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Personal trainer is expensive. When I started out, I registered badminton courses from Vancouver community centres (cheaper). At that time, I was lucky to have a chinese instructor. More so, people started to drop out and another lady and I are the only students left. I know we can now register courses online. I forgot which one, Burnaby or Vancouver, that they offer one "advance" class (not necessary a chinese teacher now). Too bad the schedule doesn't fit mine. A person I met at school is from Vancouver Raquet Club (near the QE park, ontario street). Quite a few people on this forum are members of VRC. I would join the club if I am not a student because we have free play at our university during drop-in hours.

You might wanna do a search in the forum, especially in the West Canada subforum. There are many threads about Vancouver baddy scenes.

VRC is definitely a club you should check out. However, despite the friendliness of the members, it's not a "drop-in" place. Once you joined, you're committed to playing a certain amount to get back the return on investment (annual and monthly paid membership). IMO, bare minimum would be three visits a week regularly. Also you have to provide your own feather shuttles when you play. So it's not a decision to be taken lightly.

Originally Posted by bad-min-ton

is there any badminton clubs in Vancouver or Burnaby??
is there a place to get trainners around here??

you shouldn't think of the vrc membership as a return on investment by playing as often as you can. although that is an initial tendency, the membership and what you get from it (lifestyle, friendships, freedom of playing, etc) often cannot be compared to the cost of membership. of course, this is coming from a director who has been so busy and been to the club a countable number of times since the summer...

*AHEM* "Now as the social director of Vancouver Racquets Club, I feel it is my duty to say some nice crap to make everyone feel good about themselves..." *COUGH* HAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~ J/K~

Seriously though, when I first joined VRC I was driven to show up three times a week by ritual as well, just to get my money's worth. But now even if I go just once a week, its worth far more to me than playing many times any where else. In other words, what started out as being about quantity, has now become all about quality. VRC is my 2nd home.

Now, I may be sticking my head out here amongst all you VRC guys, but you may want to check out the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club (www.vanlawn.com) as an alternative. It's obviously pricier (initiation fees start @ ~$9000) and monthly dues are around $100-$200, but if you consider the extra facilities (swimming pool, 16 tennis courts, 3 squash, fitness room, 3 dining areas, an awesome pub, etc etc etc) along with the obvious social benefits/friendships then the cost is just a drop in the bucket.

You also get access to the best (badminton) coaching in the province -- There are only 2 level 5 coaches in Canada and both are @ vanlawn. I could go on and on, but I'm scared I'm going to get flamed.

I'm obviously a happy customer, but just ask my son, who at the age of 8, is absolutely obsessed with badminton and plays 5 days a week. Maybe we'll see some of you at the Jr Rememberance Day tourney this week?

Dude, Vanlawn is simply too expensive for the normal mortals.
Most of us would join if we were millionaires. A friend of mine who used to be an investment banker choose VRC over Vanlawn & Hollyburn. He prefers VRC for its friendlier atmosphere. Vanlawn & Hollyburn are too snob snob

Originally Posted by RacquetChat

Now, I may be sticking my head out here amongst all you VRC guys, but you may want to check out the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club (www.vanlawn.com) as an alternative. It's obviously pricier (initiation fees start @ ~$9000) and monthly dues are around $100-$200, but if you consider the extra facilities (swimming pool, 16 tennis courts, 3 squash, fitness room, 3 dining areas, an awesome pub, etc etc etc) along with the obvious social benefits/friendships then the cost is just a drop in the bucket.

You also get access to the best (badminton) coaching in the province -- There are only 2 level 5 coaches in Canada and both are @ vanlawn. I could go on and on, but I'm scared I'm going to get flamed.

I'm obviously a happy customer, but just ask my son, who at the age of 8, is absolutely obsessed with badminton and plays 5 days a week. Maybe we'll see some of you at the Jr Rememberance Day tourney this week?

Now, I may be sticking my head out here amongst all you VRC guys, but you may want to check out the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club (www.vanlawn.com) as an alternative. It's obviously pricier (initiation fees start @ ~$9000) and monthly dues are around $100-$200, but if you consider the extra facilities (swimming pool, 16 tennis courts, 3 squash, fitness room, 3 dining areas, an awesome pub, etc etc etc) along with the obvious social benefits/friendships then the cost is just a drop in the bucket.

You also get access to the best (badminton) coaching in the province -- There are only 2 level 5 coaches in Canada and both are @ vanlawn. I could go on and on, but I'm scared I'm going to get flamed.

I'm obviously a happy customer, but just ask my son, who at the age of 8, is absolutely obsessed with badminton and plays 5 days a week. Maybe we'll see some of you at the Jr Rememberance Day tourney this week?

RacquetChat.com

The fees are a bit too much for me even though VLTC has really really nice facilities. Been there once for a badminton coaching course years ago. Considering that I used to pay (in my birthplace) about CAD $3/month for club membership which entitled me 2 nights (3 hours)/week access to gym courts.

Coaches are free, usually volunteers from the club - coaches (first level) have to pass a 60 hour theoretical/practical courses conducted by Chinese professional coaches (at least Chinese provincial level coaches) and also first-aid, etc. If you are good enough you could be selected into the select team and will have access to professional Chinese coaches (National level) free of charge.

Both VLTC and VRC have excellent facilities for badminton - if one day I'd be serious enough to consider joining a club I would choose VRC for economical reasons. After all, what I want is play badminton.

No offence intended, if I needed/wanted to improve my badminton skills, Yao XiMing, the badminto coach in VRC is not a bad choice either. He may not have level 5, but he is a former world champion and also part of the Chinese Thomas cup team .

Now, I may be sticking my head out here amongst all you VRC guys, but you may want to check out the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club (www.vanlawn.com) as an alternative. It's obviously pricier (initiation fees start @ ~$9000) and monthly dues are around $100-$200, but if you consider the extra facilities (swimming pool, 16 tennis courts, 3 squash, fitness room, 3 dining areas, an awesome pub, etc etc etc) along with the obvious social benefits/friendships then the cost is just a drop in the bucket.

You also get access to the best (badminton) coaching in the province -- There are only 2 level 5 coaches in Canada and both are @ vanlawn. I could go on and on, but I'm scared I'm going to get flamed.

I'm obviously a happy customer, but just ask my son, who at the age of 8, is absolutely obsessed with badminton and plays 5 days a week. Maybe we'll see some of you at the Jr Rememberance Day tourney this week?

RacquetChat.com

Hahaha, I wonder who here can afford to pay $9000 for initiation plus ~$1200-2400/year for badminton, and I doubt anyone would have the time to use up all the facility really.

And do you guys supply your own birds too?..haha..like high quality ones that cost $30/tube

some private clubs here cost 10k to 20k initiation fee plus 1.2-2k/year annual due. One has 5-7 years waiting list, and the 20k one say:

We currently have an extensive waiting list and are not accepting new applications at this time.

Yeah, I mean its true there is a lot of people out there that would play..like a lot of people own really expansive cars, but still the percentage of these people relative to the total population is still low.

I know VanLawn is inaccessible to most people because of its fees. Most of my baddie friends can't even justify VRC fees.

I sit on a number of badminton committees, and the sad thing is there is limited access for kids in the lower mainland. I started a low-key and kid-friendly website for my son and his friends to talk about badminton, and one of our goals at vanlawn is to work with other groups to increase access for kids. In North America, it's an uphill battle. But after seeing my son totally take to badminton, it's worth it.